All posts tagged ‘fighter’

I can still recall the first time I played Wing Commander. And I most definitely remember moving up the ranks from flying the Hornet to the Rapier and finishing the Winning Ending. The graphics were nothing like today’s photo-realistic games possess, but the cockpit immersion was enough to overlook the game’s faults and simply enjoy first-person dogfighting against the Kilrathi. I have similar warm fuzzies for Privateer. Back then, if it had game designer Chris Roberts’ name on it, I was saving to buy and play.

Now, twelve years later, Chris Roberts has a new game coming out called Star Citizen. It’s a first-person space fighter simulation that promises both single and multiplayer experiences with no subscription fees. It will have dogfighting, trading, exploring, and pirating. It will have cutting edge graphics, a movie-quality soundtrack, and upgrades via micro-updates that bring new campaigns and most likely new weapons, ships, and enemies to fight.

It’s pure Chris Roberts, and it promises to deliver on an experience that players just haven’t had in a space-themed game in some time. It will have ship upgrades, team play, special invite-only squadrons, customizable ship hulls, and character-influenced world complete with commodities market, and physics-based flight control and reactions. It sounds completely awesome, doesn’t it?

One other thing — it’s also raising funds via Kickstarter and its own official website. It’s more than reached its initial Kickstarter funding goal of $500,000, and it’s got 16 days left as I write this. The funding will be released on or after November 19, 2012, and Cloud Imperium Games Corporation will begin putting the game in order for both an alpha and beta release before the game is released to the general public. Backers have multiple options, including access to the alpha and beta releases plus tons of other options such as the class of starship you begin with or the amount of Galactic Credits. If you want in, the minimum backer level to gain access to the alpha and beta (plus a final digital copy of the game) is $30. Not bad. Not bad at all.